Municipal Setting Designation

What is the most cost-effective way to address groundwater contamination? One cost-effective option is the use of a Municipal Setting Designation (MSD). An MSD is a state-approved deed restriction applied to a Site located within a municipality or its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) which restricts the use of groundwater for potable purposes. Any water used for drinking, bathing, cooking, or for the irrigation of crops is considered potable water. MSDs are commonly used in areas where shallow groundwater is not used and potable water is supplied by municipalities, and saves money by avoiding costly remediation. Additionally, MSDs may save time by closing sites sooner since remediation activities and subsequent groundwater monitoring could take years. Before pursuing an MSD there are a number of factors to consider that include: Does the local municipality have an MSD ordinance What are the chemicals of concern present in groundwater and what are the concentrations Is potable waterRead More

W&M continued to capitalize on our depth of experience with Municipal Setting Designations (MSDs) in North Texas by obtaining approval for the first MSDs in the cities of Wylie and Farmers Branch. W&M has been working with the Wylie Economic Development Corporation (EDC) for two years addressing environmental issues on distressed properties that were planned for redevelopment. One such property performed cleaning operations that had resulted in a release of dry cleaning solvent (perchloroethylene [PCE], aka “perc”) into the soil and groundwater. The EDC wanted to make the property suitable for redevelopment and W&M recognized that it was an excellent candidate for an MSD, which results in the placement of a deed restriction on the property such that groundwater cannot be used for potable purposes. With public water provided from local surface water reservoirs and no sensitive groundwater use in the area, the EDC agreed and W&M presented the conceptRead More

2017 kicked off on a good note as four of W&M’s clients received closure letters from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for real property that had been entered into the Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP). The most challenging closure was for a former light industrial facility in West Texas that had a release of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the shallow portions of the Ogallala Aquifer. The Ogallala is a highly valued source of water for agricultural, industrial and domestic use in West Texas and beyond. The affected portion of the aquifer extended to a depth of nearly 100 feet. Many years of monitoring by previous consultants had shown that the VOCs were not being degraded at a very rapid pace, so W&M recommended that the client seek a Municipal Setting Designation (MSD) to restrict the use of groundwater from the affected area. W&M worked closely with theRead More

W&M was contacted by the City to assist a community non-profit organization with the environmental closure of a solvent plume originating from an historic dry cleaner on the property. The Grand Plaza Shopping Center located on Grand Avenue in Dallas, Texas has been the subject of extensive investigations and testing, including Brownfields Assessment Grants and a vapor intrusion study under EPA’s Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) program.

The City offered technical guidance to assist ICDC with the preparation of an application for a Municipal Setting Designation (MSD) to remove the groundwater ingestion pathway associated with the groundwater plume. An MSD process involves providing technical and location information to the City of Dallas and the TCEQ to demonstrate that there is no potable use of groundwater in the Site vicinity, and therefore that cleanup of groundwater to drinking water standards or other ingestion pathways is not required. W&M completed the CIty of Dallas MSD application, public meeting/City council hearing, TCEQ application, and final closure documation for this Site.